Badminton ace Tien Minh hunts for SEA Games trophy

Although he has amassed a collection of prestigious titles from
global and Asian competitions, top Vietnamese badminton player and world
No.7 Nguyen Tien Minh has yet to win the men’s singles gold medal at
the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. Report by Nhan Dan newspaper.

The achievement stands as one of Tien Minh’s greatest desires for his
badminton career. He has another opportunity to realise his dream at the
27th SEA Games, which open next month in Myanmar, where he will likely
be the top seeded player in the men’s singles category.

A thorough warm-up

Tien Minh has registered to participate in a number of international
competitions as part of his preparations for the upcoming SEA Games. He
skipped the recent National Badminton Top Players Championships to focus
his strength and energy on the 2013 Li Ning China Open, taking place in
Shanghai from November 12-17.

Tien Minh is seeded
sixth in the men’s singles, behind Malaysia’s Lee Chong Wei, China’s
Chen Long and Du Pengyu, Japan’s Kenichi Tago and Indonesia’s Tommy
Sugiarto. There promise to be numerous obstacles to Tien Minh’s ambition
of winning the tournament, foremost among them fourth seed Kenichi
Tago, who has been placed in the same branch of the tournament bracket.

Two days after the China Open concludes, Tien Minh
will begin his campaign at the six-day 2013 Yonex Sunrise Hong Kong
Open. After losing the sixth-place ranking to Denmark’s Jan O. Jorgensen
in the latest Badminton World Federation (BWF) standings, world No.7
Tien Minh has been seeded seventh at the Hong Kong Open.

Minh has drawn to play world No.26 Ajay Jayaram of India in his
first-round match. He lost to Jayaram in the Indian Badminton League in
August before avenging himself with a convincing 2-0 victory in the
quarterfinal round of the 2013 Japan Open Super Series the following
month.

Tien Minh will then attempt to defend his
championship title at the Yonex Sunrise Vietnam Open, which takes place
in Ho Chi Minh City from December 2-8, his last international
competition before the SEA Games.

Top seed at SEA Games?

The ASEAN nations have not yet officially announced the rosters of
their badminton squads for the 27th SEA Games. Players must choose
between two options – the BWF Superseries Finals in Malaysia and the
27th SEA Games in Myanmar – both of which take place concurrently, from
December 11-15.

So far, world number one Lee Chong
Wei of Malaysia has confirmed his participation in the Superseries
Finals, while other top regional players – including Indonesia’s Tommy
Sugiarto (world No.5), as well as Thailand’s Boonsak Ponsana (world
No.8) and Tanongsak Saensomboonsuk (world No.9) – have yet to make up
their minds. Should these players also choose the Superseries event,
Tien Minh is bound to be the top seed in the men’s singles at next
month’s SEA Games, which would help him avoid strong opponents in the
early rounds and consolidate his chances of progressing deep into the
tournament.

Tien Minh experienced bitter defeat at
the 26th SEA Games in Indonesia two years ago, missing out on the SEA
Games medals after a disappointing 0-2 loss to a much-lower rated
player, Derek Wong Zi Liang of Singapore, in the men’s singles
quarterfinals.

The upcoming tournament will be an
excellent opportunity for Tien Minh to clinch the first SEA Games men’s
singles crown of his professional badminton career – an achievement for
which he is thirstier than ever.-VNA